How to Evaluate Cancer Charities

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What should I look for before I write a check?

Luckily, the watchdogs (the Better Business Bureau Wise Giving Alliance, Charity Navigator and Charity Watch) have done lots of the work for you, so check their sites first. Then consider playing detective—many nonprofits annually file an IRS form 990 or 990 EZ, providing financial and leadership details. Look to see what impact the charity is having and whether it really has enough funds to accomplish its mission, says Liz Livingston Howard, a nonprofit management professor at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. A charity should typically spend, at minimum, 75 percent of its money on programs rather than on fund-raising and overhead. If you can’t find a form, ask the org about its financials directly.

Money is tight. What else can I offer?

Skills! Nonprofits need administrative help, which takes the burden off paid staffers. Or get involved in the mission: Drive patients to treatments, or work the phones. And keep in mind that even a few bucks can go a long way. Many nonprofits see their coffers run low in the spring and summer. Consider $10 a month for a year—monthly donations help them weather lean seasons. You can forgo two Venti lattes a month, right? Replace them with a different kind of warm, happy feeling.

Plamen Petkov

Is it better to give to a charity or straight to a research institution?

That depends on your goal. “You may feel strongly about a clinic for low-income women or lobbying for policies and funding that benefit the cause, rather than direct research,” says Pat Libby, director of the Institute for Nonprofit Education and Research at the University of San Diego. You probably won’t go wrong either way, but remember that even research institutions may be nonprofits, so you’ll still need to vet them.

A friend invited me to a gala—for $500. (Yikes!) Where does the money go?

A-listers in gowns and tuxes garner good press, but galas can squander tons of dough, says Ken Berger, president and CEO of Charity Navigator. “Often, the majority of the money goes to pay for the event rather than the cause,” he says. And the staff may spend hundreds of hours putting on a good show. Still, splashy events help spread awareness (all those society-page pics), and you get to show the world, starting with your other friends, that you care about this cause. Tell them why, and encourage them to donate, too.